The Beginning of the End? is a compilation of newsletters published weekly by Swazi Media Commentary and Africa Contact.
In 2012, there was an event in Swaziland that demonstrated beyond doubt
that the kingdom is not a democracy and that it is ruled over by King
Mswati III as an absolute monarch.
In October, the House of Assembly passed a vote of no-confidence in the
government by a three-fifths majority. According to the constitution the
king was obliged (he had no discretion in the matter) to sack the
government.
King Mswati did not do so. Instead, he put pressure on members of the
House to re-run the vote and this time spare the government. Which they
did.
This demonstrated that parliament had no power and was simply a rubber
stamp for the king. Intelligent observers knew this already. Political
parties are banned in Swaziland and people may only stand for election
as individuals. Many of the MPs and senators are appointed by the king
without benefit of election and the king chooses the Prime Minister and
cabinet.
There is a parliamentary election due in Swaziland in 2013 (they are
held every five years) and if previous votes are anything to go by
people inside Swaziland and outside the kingdom would be likely to argue
long and hard about whether the election was worth supporting; whether
it had credibility; or whether it was a fig leaf hiding the reality of
the king’s dominance in his kingdom. Now we know.
The Beginning of the End? , which can be downloaded from scribd dot com
to a laptop, computer, or any device that reads e-books, looks at the
events of October and also contains an assortment of news, analysis and
comment covering the campaign for freedom in Swaziland throughout 2012. These include the Global Action for Democracy held in September;
campaigns for democracy spearheaded by trade unions and students and the
continuing struggle for rights for women, children, gays and minority
groups.
The Beginning of the End? also
examines the state of the Swaziland economy and connects this to the
extravagant spending of King Mswati III and his Royal household. While
seven in ten of his one million subjects live in abject poverty the king
has 13 palaces – one for each of his wives - fleets of BMW and Mercedes
Benz cars and a private jet aircraft. Meanwhile, Swaziland continues to
have the highest rate of HIV infection in the world.
The newsletter is compiled by Swazi Media Commentary,
one of the longest running blog or social media sites supporting the
campaign for democracy in Swaziland. It contains information and
commentary about human rights in Swaziland. It has no physical base and
is completely independent of any political faction and receives no
income from any individual or organisation. People who contribute ideas
or write for it do so as volunteers and no receive no payment.
Swazi Media Commentary has been compiling the Swaziland Newsletter
(which had already been running for many years) on behalf of Africa
Contact since September 2010.
Africa Contact is
a solidarity movement with roots in the anti-Apartheid movement. It was
founded in 1978 by a number of Danish political parties, trade unions
and other organizations in order to unite the efforts against
colonialism and suppression in Southern Africa. It is based in
Copenhagen.
To read or download, click below.
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